Maintenance Technician - Durban Branch at Paradigm Packaging (Pty) Ltd

About Us:

Paradigm Packaging is a leading global player in the plastic blow moulding industry, with over 60 sites world-wide. We are committed to delivering high-quality, innovative solutions for our diverse range of clients. Our state-of-the-art technology and customer-centric approach set us apart as we continue to expand our market presence. We are currently seeking a motivated and skilled Maintenance Technician to join our team and contribute to our operational excellence and success.

Position Overview:

We are looking for a proactive and reliable Maintenance Technician to ensure the optimal performance, reliability, and longevity of our production equipment and facility systems. The ideal candidate will have a strong technical background in industrial maintenance, with hands-on experience in troubleshooting, repairing, and maintaining machinery in a manufacturing environment—preferably within plastics or blow moulding. You will play a key role in minimising downtime, supporting continuous production, and upholding our high standards of safety and quality. 

MANAGEMENT EXPECTATION

This is a hands-on technical position.

The Maintenance Technician is expected to spend the majority of his working time actively supporting equipment reliability, preventative maintenance and production continuity.

Management expects the Maintenance Technician to:

• Know the condition of critical production equipment.
• Understand which machines require attention.
• Anticipate potential failures.
• Keep critical spares available.
• Respond quickly to breakdowns.
• Carry out reliable repairs.
• Reduce repeat equipment failures.
• Complete preventative maintenance properly.
• Maintain accurate records.
• Work safely.

• Continuously improve machine reliability.

• Maintain all production machinery and associated equipment in good working condition.
• Carry out mechanical and electrical maintenance.
• Inspect machinery regularly for wear, damage or potential failure.
• Repair faulty equipment promptly and correctly.
• Ensure equipment is returned to production in a safe and reliable condition after repairs.
• Perform routine lubrication, adjustments and equipment checks.
• Replace worn or defective components where required.
• Monitor equipment condition and report developing faults.
• Maintain machine guarding and safety-related equipment.
• Ensure equipment is not operated where continued use could result in further damage or create a safety risk.

PREVENTATIVE MAINTENANCE

The Maintenance Technician is responsible for supporting and implementing the company’s preventative maintenance programme.

• Carry out scheduled preventative maintenance.
• Complete maintenance according to required intervals.
• Follow equipment manufacturer maintenance recommendations where applicable.
• Inspect critical mechanical and electrical components.
• Record work completed.
• Identify components requiring future replacement.
• Plan maintenance activities before failure occurs.
• Advise the Operations Supervisor of equipment requiring planned downtime.
• Ensure maintenance tasks are completed properly and not merely signed off.
• Continuously improve preventative maintenance schedules based on equipment history.

Objective: move maintenance from a breakdown-driven environment to a planned preventative maintenance environment.

BREAKDOWN MAINTENANCE

In the event of equipment failure, the Maintenance Technician must:

• Respond promptly to breakdowns.
• Assess the nature and severity of the fault.
• Diagnose the root cause of equipment failure.
• Carry out repairs efficiently.
• Communicate estimated repair requirements to the Operations Supervisor.
• Prioritise equipment based on production requirements and operational impact.
• Ensure machinery is tested before being returned to production.
• Confirm that repairs have permanently addressed the problem where possible.
• Record breakdown information and repairs completed.
• Identify repeat breakdowns and recommend permanent corrective action.

Temporary repairs may only be used where necessary to restore production safely and must subsequently be followed by a permanent repair.

FAULT FINDING

The Maintenance Technician must be competent in systematic fault finding involving, where applicable:

• Mechanical systems.
• Electrical systems.
• Pneumatic systems.
• Hydraulic systems.
• Motors and drives.
• Pumps.
• Gearboxes.
• Bearings.
• Conveyors.
• Sensors.
• Proximity switches.
• Heating systems.
• Cooling systems.
• Valves.
• Solenoids.
• Control panels.
• Basic PLC-related diagnostics.
• Variable-speed drives.
• Industrial safety circuits.

The Technician must avoid unnecessary component replacement without identifying the underlying cause of failure.

PRODUCTION MACHINERY

The Maintenance Technician will support the maintenance of Paradigm Packaging’s manufacturing equipment, including where applicable:

• Blow moulding equipment.
• IBC production machinery.
• PE drum manufacturing equipment.
• Extrusion-related equipment.
• Material handling systems.
• Conveyors.
• Cooling systems.
• Compressors.
• Chillers.
• Hydraulic equipment.
• Pneumatic equipment.
• Pumps.
• Packaging and finishing equipment.
• Reconditioning equipment.
• Ancillary manufacturing equipment.

The Technician must develop a detailed technical understanding of the equipment used within the facility.

MECHANICAL MAINTENANCE

Mechanical responsibilities may include:

• Bearing replacement.
• Shaft repairs and alignment.
• Gearbox inspection and replacement.
• Chain and sprocket maintenance.
• Belt replacement and tensioning.
• Pump maintenance.
• Valve replacement.
• Seal replacement.
• Pneumatic cylinder repairs.
• Hydraulic cylinder repairs.
• Hose replacement.
• Conveyor maintenance.
• Mechanical alignment.
• Lubrication.
• Welding and basic fabrication where competent.
• Modification of brackets and machine components.
• Installation of replacement mechanical components.

ELECTRICAL MAINTENANCE

Where qualified and authorised, responsibilities may include:

• Electrical fault finding.
• Testing motors.
• Replacing motors.
• Inspecting electrical panels.
• Checking electrical connections.
• Replacing contactors, relays and overloads.
• Sensor replacement.
• Troubleshooting industrial control circuits.
• Checking safety switches and interlocks.
• Basic VSD fault finding.
• Basic PLC diagnostic support.
• Maintaining electrical equipment in accordance with company safety standards.

Electrical work requiring statutory certification must be performed by an appropriately qualified or authorised person.

PNEUMATIC AND HYDRAULIC SYSTEMS

The Maintenance Technician must be capable of inspecting and maintaining pneumatic and hydraulic equipment, including:

• Cylinders.
• Solenoid valves.
• Pressure regulators.
• Air lines.
• Hydraulic hoses.
• Hydraulic pumps.
• Hydraulic valves.
• Filters.
• Seals.
• Fittings.
• Pressure-related equipment.

Leaks must be attended to promptly to reduce equipment failure, energy loss and safety risks.

MACHINE DOWNTIME

The Maintenance Technician plays a critical role in reducing plant downtime.

• Record significant equipment failures.
• Identify causes of downtime.
• Monitor repeat breakdowns.
• Assist with downtime analysis.
• Implement corrective action.
• Recommend machine modifications where recurring problems exist.
• Improve equipment reliability.
• Work with Operations to schedule maintenance during appropriate production windows.

The objective is not simply to repair breakdowns quickly, but to prevent the breakdown from happening again.

ROOT CAUSE ANALYSIS

For significant or recurring breakdowns, the Maintenance Technician must investigate:

• What failed?
• Why did it fail?
• Could the failure have been detected earlier?
• Was there inadequate preventative maintenance?
• Was the component incorrectly installed?
• Was the machine incorrectly operated?
• Is there a design weakness?
• Is another component causing the failure?
• What corrective action will prevent recurrence?

Where appropriate, findings must be reported to the Operations Supervisor.

SPARE PARTS MANAGEMENT

• Identify critical spare parts.
• Monitor minimum stock levels.
• Advise when parts need to be reordered.
• Ensure replaced parts are correctly identified.
• Keep maintenance stores organised.
• Prevent unnecessary use or loss of maintenance components.
• Identify obsolete or incorrect spare parts.
• Provide accurate specifications when replacement components are ordered.
• Support the development of a critical-spares register.

Critical production equipment should not remain unnecessarily out of service because essential spare parts were not properly planned.

MAINTENANCE WORKSHOP

• Maintain the workshop in a clean and organised condition.
• Ensure tools are properly stored.
• Ensure company tools are protected from damage or loss.
• Report damaged or missing tools.
• Maintain workshop equipment.
• Ensure hazardous materials are properly stored.
• Ensure maintenance work areas are left clean after repairs.
• Maintain appropriate housekeeping standards.

CONTRACTORS AND SERVICE PROVIDERS

Where outside assistance is required, the Maintenance Technician may:

• Assist with diagnosing the problem.
• Provide contractors with relevant machine information.
• Supervise or support external technicians where required.
• Confirm work has been completed properly.
• Ensure contractors comply with site safety requirements.
• Verify that equipment operates correctly following external repairs.
• Provide feedback to the Operations Supervisor.

INSTALLATIONS AND PROJECTS

The Maintenance Technician may be required to assist with:

• Machine installations.
• Equipment relocation.
• Electrical installations.
• Mechanical installations.
• Plant upgrades.
• Machine modifications.
• Safety improvements.
• Automation improvements.
• Capacity improvement projects.
• Plant-layout changes.
• Commissioning of new equipment.

The Technician must assist in ensuring new installations are completed safely and correctly.

CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT

The Maintenance Technician is expected to identify opportunities to improve:

• Machine reliability.
• Production efficiency.
• Equipment safety.
• Energy efficiency.
• Maintainability.
• Equipment life.
• Machine changeover time.
• Maintenance costs.
• Spare-parts usage.
• Breakdown response time.

Improvement ideas should be discussed with the Operations Supervisor before implementation where they involve significant machine modification or cost.

SAFETY RESPONSIBILITIES

Safety is a fundamental requirement of this role.

• Comply with all occupational health and safety requirements.
• Use appropriate PPE.
• Follow lockout and isolation procedures.
• Ensure machinery is electrically and mechanically isolated before performing maintenance where required.
• Never bypass machine safety devices without proper authorisation.
• Restore guards and safety devices after maintenance.
• Keep maintenance areas clean and safe.
• Report unsafe equipment immediately.
• Identify potential hazards during maintenance.
• Ensure tools and extension leads are safe for use.
• Ensure hot work is properly controlled.
• Work safely at heights where applicable.
• Prevent unsafe shortcuts during breakdown pressure.

Production urgency must never override safe maintenance practices.

QUALITY AND FOOD-SAFETY REQUIREMENTS

As Paradigm Packaging operates within a controlled manufacturing environment, the Maintenance Technician must:

• Follow hygiene and food-safety requirements applicable to production areas.
• Prevent contamination during maintenance activities.
• Remove all tools, parts, oils and maintenance materials after repairs.
• Use approved lubricants where required.
• Ensure foreign materials are not left inside or around manufacturing equipment.
• Support corrective actions raised during audits.
• Maintain equipment in a condition suitable for the production environment.
• Assist Quality and Operations during equipment-related investigations.

ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSIBILITIES

The Maintenance Technician will support the company’s environmental objectives by:

• Preventing unnecessary oil leaks.
• Preventing hydraulic fluid spills.
• Controlling waste materials.
• Segregating waste where required.
• Reporting environmental incidents.
• Reducing compressed-air leaks.
• Assisting in reducing unnecessary electricity and water consumption.
• Ensuring chemicals and oils are properly stored.

MAINTENANCE RECORDS

The Maintenance Technician must maintain accurate records of:

• Preventative maintenance completed.
• Machine breakdowns.
• Repairs undertaken.
• Components replaced.
• Maintenance inspections.
• Outstanding repairs.
• Spare parts used.
• Repeat equipment failures.
• Machine modifications.
• Contractor repairs where applicable.

Maintenance records must be accurate enough to allow management to track equipment history and identify recurring problems.

DAILY COMMUNICATION

The Maintenance Technician must maintain good communication with Production and Operations. This includes:

• Informing the Operations Supervisor of major breakdowns.
• Providing realistic progress updates.
• Advising Production when machinery can safely return to operation.
• Highlighting equipment that requires future planned maintenance.
• Reporting critical spare-parts requirements.
• Reporting potential equipment failures before they cause downtime.
• Escalating issues where outside technical assistance is required.

SHIFT AND AFTER-HOURS SUPPORT

Depending on operational requirements, the Maintenance Technician may be required to:

• Support production outside standard working hours.
• Work overtime where reasonably required.
• Attend urgent machine breakdowns.
• Assist during planned weekend maintenance.
• Support shutdown maintenance.
• Participate in an agreed standby arrangement where implemented by management.

Any such arrangements will be managed in accordance with company policy and applicable employment requirements.

AUTHORITY

Within the limits of company policy, the Maintenance Technician has authority to:

• Stop machinery where continued operation presents a safety risk.
• Stop equipment where continued operation may cause serious equipment damage.
• Recommend that machinery remain out of production until repairs are completed.
• Recommend replacement of defective components.
• Recommend preventative maintenance requirements.
• Recommend equipment modifications.
• Escalate unsafe operating practices to the Operations Supervisor

Package & Remuneration

CTC: R30 000 - R40 000 pm (based on Experience and Qualification)  +

Medical Aid Benefit - after permenant 

CLICK HERE TO APPLY